Meijer Inc., the Michigan-based superstore chain, has its eye on building at North Perryville and Rote roads in Rockford and at North Perryville and Illinois 173 in Machesney Park.

The stores would be identical in size, nearly 200,000 square feet. Each would feature an attached gas station and target the same opening date.

The projects promise to alter the regional retail landscape, providing new shopping options and a more competitive grocery market while creating hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenues for local governments.

Neither project is a done deal.

Administrators have long tried to lure a supermarket to the village. A small Aldi on 173 and a Target are among Machesney Park’s few grocery options.

Meijer’s food prices are typically about 10 percent lower than that of a traditional supermarket.

“They might come in a hair higher, depending on what their pricing strategy is for Rockford,” said Jim Hertel, managing partner with Willard Bishop, a suburban Chicago-based retail marketing and consulting firm.

“The interesting thing about Meijer is that it started as a food retailer that added general merchandise later. Superstores like Walmart went the other direction. So the range and quality of produce with Meijer is generally outstanding.”

The chain has aggressively grown to this side of Lake Michigan, with planned expansions in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Machesney Park has committed a 50 percent sales tax rebate for 11 years to First Rockford Group, which would develop the 27-acre site it owns north of 173 between Forest Hills Road and Perryville. The incentive is not capped at a maximum dollar value, unlike the proposed package Rockford aldermen are considering.

“The good news is, this is part of a bigger development for the area,” village Administrator Tim Savage said. “This will generate several outlots at the site, and planning is in the works for retail across the street.”

First Rockford plans to build about 500,000 square feet of retail space at the Machesney Park site, and the company is in talks with big- and medium-box stores to fill the site. “That development would still be about two years out,” said Pankaj Mahajan, director of retail development.

Rockford’s tax-incentives offer is contingent on the developer attracting retail establishments that are unique to the area. The city would set aside a portion of sales tax dollars generated at the site to pay for redeveloping vacant buildings in older, poorer neighborhoods.

Rockford aldermen discussed the incentives proposal Monday but did not cast a final vote. Meijer officials are concerned about the planned road construction along Illinois 173 and don’t want to open the Machesney Park store while the state highway is torn apart, Savage said.

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“Our task at hand is to make sure (the state) gets the roadway out to bid and under construction so it’s completed by the end of 2014,” he said.